My first official motorcycle road trip…meaning a multi day ride only being undertaken to sightsee from the saddle :). This sequence should start with day 1…but since the adventure almost ended before it began, I thought starting with day 0 was appropriate. I’ve only laid a bike down three times,
After thoroughly enjoying my Honda CB500X for years, I decided to upgrade. In part, I wanted more comfort, and some convenience features useful on longer trips. I also wanted to move beyond a chain-driven bike (most motorcycles transfer power from the engine to the rear wheel via what amounts to
You were a great introduction to a pastime that I’ve grown to love more and more each year. And I don’t hold my one accident against you — it was clearly human error. Fare the well…
I went for my second motorcycle ride in about eight months yesterday. The hiatus was due to a fairly bad accident (seven broken ribs and some bone in my upper back), punctuated by getting my bike back from the shop last October. It was much easier to repair the bike
One of the necessary skills to be a successful — as in “don’t go down” — rider is scanning the roadway in front of you. That’s true of driving a car, too, of course. But it’s more important on a bike because you have a lot less road grip —
Motorcycle riders have a reputation of being disreputable, law- and convention-flouting people. But in terms of insane, hang-it-out-over-the-edge chutzpah they have nothing on bicycle riders :). The other day I was coming down into Woodside on CA-84 through the twisties. If you’ve ever driven that stretch of highway you know
It’s one thing to ride on a mostly empty road, even at speed. It’s another thing entirely to ride — even at low speed — in traffic. On the open road the main risk factor is you and your ability to spot road hazards and the occasional vehicle entering or
Today I rode out to Skyline Drive (basically the spine of the Peninsula) and went down to Woodside via Huddart Park. The traffic was stop-and-go up Highway 92 to the Skyline turnoff because of everyone heading over to Half Moon Bay and the beach. Once I turned south there was
I’ve been having a lot of fun learning to ride my new motorcycle. Yesterday I cruised through Portola Valley — very pretty horse country — which I don’t recall ever visiting before. The day before I checked out parts of Hillsborough and came back along Skyline and Canada Drives. I
For day 2 I rode around Redwood Shores — great place to practice shifting, as there are few cars and a LOT of stop signs — Belmont and Emerald Hills. I learned first-hand how motorcycles are invisible (they are, even when a driver makes eye contact with you). Not by